Show us two things that should never be together.
Eliminate Work Distractions at Home
There's the second link, as promised. Oh and I also went back and added in all the links I forgot in my last post. It'll will make a heck of a lot more sense that way.
Last month I decide to take myself and my writing abilities more seriously. I have never been the type of person to give myself credit for the things I'm good at. In fact, I have a hard time believing that I'm actually good at anything. So this jump into freelance writing was a huge move for me. I probably would have never had the confidence to try it unless someone very close to me made the simplest, most logical statement I've ever heard. Nope, I'm not going to tell you what it was. Suffice to say, it was the kick in ass that I needed.
First I tried Shared Reviews, but found that it really wasn't a source of income so much as a hobby. To be honest, it was a hobby I didn't particularly enjoy. When I asked about removing my content, I was reminded that they own it. (Lesson 1: read the fine print) But my account is 'suspended' or something because that was all they could do, no canceling of accounts. I earned no actual money from SR, but if you look at my account it shows earnings. That is my list of things to email and discuss with someone in charge.
I am blogging book reviews through Today.com. That was the first time in my life I got paid actually money for writing actual words about actual things. No, seriously. Reading is Sexy! I'm not updating that as much as I'd like to. As I get myself into a stricter regimen, that will change. Just want to brag a tiny bit that Brian Turner (author of Here, Bullet) left a comment on my review and we emailed a bit. Good stuff. Made me feel special. =)
Next step, I applied at Demand Studios. I am currently writing How-to articles through them for eHow.com. Those pay $15 each, which is pretty darned decent. DS owns all rights to that work, but it's worth it to me and for what the articles are.
I had been shying away from the many, many, many sites that pay content writers via page views, ad clicks, or profit-sharing. This morning while digging for How-To articles to write, I finally caved and signed up for Triond.com. I have submitted two articles, one that is not my most prized work ever, but it was my test run. The second one I submitted today hasn't been accepted yet, but I will post a link to it later. Here's the first, test run article. This is a quote from Trion.com about how they pay writers for their content:
"Your earnings are equivalent to 50 percent of the net revenue generated by advertising that appears on the pages alongside your content. The Triond income for each content item is calculated as follows:Earnings = page views * eRPM / 1000
eRPM stands for effective-revenues-per-millennium, or, more simply, the amount of revenue generated for each 1,000 page views."
I am still transcribing for one client also, but that is on hold for the next couple of weeks while I pack and move. More about my impending move to California later - leaving on July 10th, so if it's not up by then...it could be another long break before I'm back to Vox. =)
Show us the very last picture you took. No cheating!
Show us what you're looking forward to in 2008.
[Updated 20 June 2008]
I just took a look back at the things I said I was looking forward to this year. I checked off 4 more. Not bad. Of the items remaining on the list:
– My daughter will be two in about two months.
– One car is paid off, the other will be in two weeks.
– I still cheat on the meat-eating periodically, particularly if there is Italian sausage around.
------
I've never cared much for making New Year's Resolutions or anything like that, but there are quite a few things I'm looking forward to this year. Here's is a concise list:
A two-year old.A third anniversary.A new house with more space for aforementioned two-year old.
Better playground proximity.
Not smoking for a year.Running as much as I used to.
Not eating meat for a year.
Having two paid-off cars.Getting a raise.Starting my two-year countdown to ETS.
I'm sure there are more, but those are the big ones that came to mind.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Show us the wallpaper on your cell phone.
Submitted by jacolily.
Show us your mother.
What are your neighbors like? (The ones you live near or next to, not the ones in your Vox neighborhood!)
I haven't spoken much to my neighbors, but they seem very nice. They have a young daughter who is once of the most polite children I've ever spoken to.
Also, their kids make a lot of noise. They run up and down their stairs like a herd of elephants. Contrary to how most people would probably feel about it, I love it! It makes me happy knowing that when my kid makes noise, they either don't notice or don't care, and hopefully they are just as comfortable with their kids going wild.
Kids need to make noise. I think they will actually, physically explode if they can't.
National Autism Awareness Month was established in 1972 by the Autism Society of America (ASA). According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reports that autism in children ages 3 to 10 is about 3.4 in 1,000. Autism is more common in boys than girls, but girls tend to be affected more severely.
Autism Spectrum Disorders/Pervasive Developmental Disorders:
Autism is one of multiple ASDs including Rett Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Asperger Syndrome, and PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified).
They range in severity from child to child, but they all share some similar characteristics. It can be a very lengthy process to find an accurate diagnosis. Behavioral treatment and medication can range from extremely effective to minimally effective.
Parents and school employees need to be continually educated about ASDs. Seek out this knowledge! Children with ASDs can often be misdiagnosed as having ADHD or just be categorized as "bad" kids. Children with ASDs may be very high functioning and this adds to confusion and misdiagnoses, along with doctors who do not collect as much information as they should before making a diagnosis.
Autism Spectrum Disorders are increasing continuously at an alarming rate in the United States. Knowledge IS power. We still do not know precisely what causes these disorders and there is NO CURE. Assistance in schools varies widely. Medical insurance, if you have it, may not cover everything a child with ASD needs to thrive.
If you have not been affected by ASD in one way or another, it is a matter of time until you are. Please learn more about Autism. Take even just five minutes to learn more than you know right now. If you can afford to, make a donation to the Autism Society of America
Autism Speaks will allow you to purchase a piece of the autism puzzle for $1 at checkout when you shop at TJMaxx starting April 9th and they have organized many Walk for Autism Research events across the country. Find out more at Autism Speaks
I recently signed up for a Facebook account for the first time, and signed up for MySpace again after not having an account for about two years...
I don't have much time to spend on Vox at the moment because of school, but Vox really takes the cake. Design, content, crowd. Each social network out there tries, whether directly or indirectly, to cater to a specific crowd, so maybe I just have more in common with the demographic on Vox – who the hell knows?
All I know, is I like using Vox and I enjoy reading what many Vox users have to say...
